^{1 Ref} And the high priest said, Are these things so?

^{2 Ref} And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

^{3 Ref} and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.

^{4 Ref} Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, `God' removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell:

^{5 Ref} and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when `as yet' he had no child.

^{6 Ref} And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should bring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years.

^{7 Ref} And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

^{8 Ref} And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so `Abraham' begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac `begat' Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

^{9 Ref} And the patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt: and God was with him,

^{10 Ref} and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

^{11 Ref} Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

^{12 Ref} But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the first time.

^{13 Ref} And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pharaoh.

^{14 Ref} And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

^{15 Ref} And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, himself and our fathers;

^{16 Ref} and they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

^{17 Ref} But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

^{18 Ref} till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

^{19 Ref} The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that they should cast out their babes to the end they might not live.

^{20 Ref} At which season Moses was born, and was exceeding fair; and he was nourished three months in his father's house.

^{21 Ref} and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

^{22 Ref} And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and works.

^{23 Ref} But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

^{24 Ref} And seeing one `of them' suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian:

^{25 Ref} and he supposed that his brethren understood that God by his hand was giving them deliverance; but they understood not.

^{26 Ref} And the day following he appeared unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

^{27 Ref} But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸ Wouldest thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?

^{29 Ref} And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.